Island



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT W. JENKS, JR., OE PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

RAILROAD-GATE.

Speccation of Letters Patent No. 27,055, dated February 7, 1860.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, R. IV. Jenks, J r., of Providence, in the county ofProvidence and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and ImprovedAutomatic Railltoad Gate; and I do hereby declare that the following isis a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being hadto the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in whichFigure l is a side sectional view of my invention, taken in the line a2,Fig. 3. Fig. 2, a transverse vertical section of ditto, taken in theline Fig. 3. Fig. 3, a plan on top view of ditto. Fig. 4, a detachedplan or top view of a pair of the stationary and sliding obliquelyslotted plates by which the gate-posts are actuated. Fig. 5, a view ofthe mechanism attached to the locomotive for actuating the gates.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention relates to an improved arrangement of means for openingand closing rail-road gates through the medium of the locomotive, as thelatter passes along, the gates shutting off the highway, some timeprevious to the arrival of the locomotive thereat so that vehicles onthe highway will not be liable to be brought in collision with thelocomotive, the latter also opening the gate after itand the train havepassed the highway.

The invention consists in opening and closing the gates by shifting theposition of their hinged posts by mechanism hereinafter described.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention I will proceed to describe it.

A, A, represents the two rails of a railroad track, and B, B, are twogates, the hinged or turning posts c of which are placed at either sideof the track at such a distance as to allow the gates, when swinging inone position to crop the track, and leave the highway open across thetrack, as shown in Fig. 3, and when swinging in the other position tocross the highway and shut oif the same from the rail-road track, thetwo gates being parallel with each other in either position. The gatesare retained in both an open and closed state; by means of latches a*which engage with catches a on posts b at either side of the track.

The hinge or turning posts a of the gates have journals at their upperends which journals are fitted in bearings c, at the upper parts ofposts'O, the lower end of the post a of each gate is provided with ajournal cl which is tted in oblique slots c c', made respectively inasliding plate D, and stationary plate E. These slots have the samedegree of Obliquity but they have a reverse position relatively witheach other as shown clearly in Fig. 4, the slot c being shown by dottedlines.

The plates D, E, of each gate post a are tted in suitable boxes or pitsbeneath the surface of the ground and rods F, F', are attached one toeach end of each sliding plate D. These rods F, F', extend along belowthe surface of the ground a suitable distance from each side of thehighway, and the outer end of one rod F, is attached by a crank f andlink g, to a shaft L having a bar G, secured to it at right angles. Theother rod F', of the same sliding plate is bent upward at right anglesand is connected by a ling z' to al crank of a shaft 7c to which a bar His attached. This bent end of the rod F', permits of a reverse or nearlyreverse position of crank j, to the crank f, of rod F, and consequentlywhen the bar G is erect or in a vertical position, the bar I-I will beinclined, as shown in Fig. l.

The part a of one gate is placed in a. reverse position to that of theother at the 0pposite side of the track, and the rod F, of one slidingplate D, is connected to the rod F', of the other by a lever I, thefulcrum of which passes through its center, see Fig. 2, and dotted linesin Fig. 3. This connection of the rods F, F', by the lever I, causes asimultaneous operation of the two sliding plates D, D.

J is a locomotive or a tender to the sides of which inclined swingingframes K are attached, one frame to each side of the locomotive ortender. These frames are inclined in opposite positions, and they may beformed of bars arranged in quadrelateral form as shown clearly in Fig.5. The back part of each frame K, has a projection l, attached and toeach side of the locomotive or tender a lever L, is attached by a pivotm. The upper end ofeach lever L has a spring a, connected to it, saidsprings extending underneath the project-ions Z, Z.

The operation is as follows. Suppose for instance that the locomotive ortender J, be moving in the direction indicated by the ioo arrow 1, Fig.3, the gates B being across the track. The frame K at the right handside of the locomotive or tender will be raised just before the latterarrives at the bar G, in consequence of the lower part of the lever L,striking a projection 0 which causes the spring n to throw up the frameK, and the latter then strikes the bar Gr and actuates the rods F, F,shifting the plate D which in consequence of the oblique slots e e',throws the hinge post a of the gates B, B, in an inclined position, itbeing understood that in consequence of the connection formed betweenthe rods F, F', at each side of the track by the lever I, both plates D,are moved simultaneously. The elevated frame K throws the bar G forwardand the posts a being thrown in an inclined position their latches a)are raised out of their catches axx on posts b, and the gates will bytheir own gravity swing from their position across the track to aposition across the highway as shown in red Fig. 3. And when the trainhas passed across the highway the frame K at the right hand side of thetender will be again elevated in consequence of striking anotherprojection o", and said frame will actuate the bar H and throw the postsa, in consequence of the moving of the sliding plates D in a reversedirection, in an inclined position reverse to their formerposition, andthereby cause the gates toswing back across the track. When a train is`moving in the other direction as indicated by arrow 2, the operation isprecisely the same Y the frame K at the opposite side of the tenderactuating the bars at the other side of the track. It will of course beseen that the frames K drop by their own gravity as soon as they passthe bars they actuate, and this is necessary in order that no improperaction of the frames on the bars may occur.

I am aware that gates have been opened and closed by moving their hingeposts a out of a vertical line and I therefore do not claim broadly suchmovement, irrespective of the means employed for effecting it, but

I do claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. The 'employment or use of the sliding and stationary plates D, E,slotted obliquely as shown, and having the journals cl of the posts afitted in the slots, substantially as ROBERT W. JENKS, JR.

lVitnesses:

WILLIAM E. BROWNE, ARTEMAS A. DARLING.

